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TOUGH NEW LAWS TARGETING GANGS AND ORGANIZED CRIME COME INTO FORCE
OTTAWA, October 2, 2009 – Today, Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (organized crime and protection of justice system participants) comes into force, providing police and justice officials with important new tools in the fight against organized crime.
“Street gangs and organized crime pose a significant threat to the
safety of our communities,”
said the Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. “Our
Government will continue to take tough, responsible action against criminal
organizations to make our streets safer and more secure.”
The Bill, which received Royal Assent on June 23, 2009:
- Makes murders connected to organized crime automatically first-degree and therefore subject to a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for 25 years;
- Creates a new offence addressing drive-by and other reckless shootings. This offence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of four years in prison, with a maximum of 14 years. The minimum sentence increases if the offence was committed for a criminal organization or with a prohibited or restricted firearm such as a handgun; and,
- Creates two new offences of aggravated assault against a peace or public officer and assault with a weapon on a peace or public officer. These are punishable by maximum penalties of 14 and 10 years respectively.
The Government has introduced other key legislation which targets organized crime. Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, will crack down on drug crime related to criminal organizations, and Bill C-26, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (auto theft and trafficking in property obtained by crime) proposes tough action against auto theft and the illicit trafficking in property obtained by crime that is a key to organized crime’s profitability.
An on-line version of all organized-crime-related legislation can be found at www.parl.gc.ca.
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